Areas for future development

The 74-hectare Northern Gateway Transport and Employment Precinct is located north of the existing developed areas of Cundletown. It is located between the Taree Regional Airport and the northern Taree access to the Pacific Highway, which is the main regional transport corridor linking Sydney and Brisbane. 

The Northern Gateway is intended for transport employment generating industries given its proximity to the Pacific Highway. Over time, this hub could be connected to other transport forms including air and rail. Expected uses include freight transport facilities, truck depots, transport depots, warehouses and distribution centres. The Northern Gateway site adjoins a proposed service centre site. 

The catalyst for the Northern Gateway was recognition that this site is between 3 and 4 hours from Sydney, which is almost a third of the trip for road freight between Sydney and Brisbane. The State Government recognises this distance as appropriate for single driving stints. With another transport hub located around Grafton, the road freight transport between Sydney and Brisbane would be enhanced and safety improved on the Pacific Highway. 

Truck drivers delivering freight between Sydney and South East Queensland will utilise this site and the Grafton site to switch loads and drivers. This will enable drivers to focus on smaller sections of the route (eg the return journey from Taree to Sydney) and facilitate more efficient freight transport between Sydney and Brisbane. 

The precinct is strategically significant to Taree and the surrounding region. The direct effect of the project is to increase the amount of freight and freight related businesses located in Taree. It is expected that many truck drivers and supporting service providers will base themselves in Taree. 

The development should also significantly reduce freight costs to and from the Taree region as it will allow freight in and out of Taree to be added to loads as they are being switched. The reduction in freight costs will provide Taree and the surrounding regions with a shipping cost advantage in delivering freight to and from major centres. Coupled with the low cost of land and labour, this development is likely to encourage the establishment of transport and logistics businesses and other industrial businesses seeking low freight costs in Taree. 

Stage 1 of the project was rezoned in 2016 and development consent provided for a transport depot, while Stage 2 was approved for rezoning in 2020.

See a map of the proposed Northern Gateway Transport and Employment Precinct here(PDF, 251KB).

The Manning Valley is set to expand, with the rezoning now approved for the new town of Brimbin.

Brimbin is located 8km north-east of Taree.  The site extends from the Lansdowne River to the east through to the Dawson River in the west, straddles Lansdowne Road and covers an area of around 3,700ha.  The land is currently used for cattle grazing with two large dams, on either side of Lansdowne Road. Extensive areas of native vegetation are also located on the site, much of which will be protected. The residential and commercial parts of the town will be centred around the large dam on the western side of Lansdowne Road, while industrial and agricultural employment development will be located on the eastern side of Lansdowne Road.

The rezoning involved changing the zone of the land from rural, to zones that provided a foundation for a new town (including residential and employment zones).  These following changes are the first step towards developing the new town:

• 874 hectares of residential land with the capacity to house approximately 22,000 people in 8,000 homes built over 30 years
• a mixed-use centre and three neighbourhood centres
• four schools comprising three primary and one high school
• 112 hectares of employment and industrial land
• 400 hectares of primary production and rural employment land
• 600 hectares of environmental living lands
• a range of retail and commercial services to cater for the population in Brimbin
• over 1,000 hectares of land for conservation and reserve purposes.

A key feature is the conservation land which will remain an important habitat, forming part of the Brimbin Nature Reserve. In addition, this site has been biodiversity certified, meaning that the ecology issues have been resolved upfront enabling a more efficient processing of future development applications.

When fully developed (in around 30 years), Brimbin is expected to accommodate a population of around 22,000 people. This is about the size of Taree and will both significantly increase the population of the MidCoast, and reinforce Taree’s role as a major regional centre. The Brimbin structure plan(PDF, 394KB) provides the blueprint for how the land will be developed.

Next steps

While the rezoning is a significant step towards this new town, the next phase is to decide how the town will be laid out and where parks, roads and services will be located.  This detailed master planning process will be undertaken by Roche Group (the developer) in consultation with the Council. This process has commenced and is expected to take about 12 months to complete.

The community will continue to play a major role in the realisation of this new town, Council encourages the community to keep updated on its progress via this website.

FIGTREES on the Manning is located on the northern bank of the Manning River, approximately 2km east of the Taree town centre. The site is around 20ha in size and includes a closed dairy factory in Pitt Street, through to and including the Mid Coast Ford site in Bligh Street, Chatham.

Given the location and heritage of the site a master plan was developed to determine the future development of this important waterfront site.

The master plan(PDF, 5MB) allows for a range of uses across the site including open space, residential, commercial and tourism. A marina has also been included in the master plan.

A major outcome of this rezoning was to open up the foreshore for public use and to create an off-road pedestrian / cycleway link between the Taree CBD and the recreation / entertainment precinct to the east of this site.

The site will ultimately enable the construction of around 500 residential units and have a range of commercial buildings which can be occupied by cafes, restaurants and other businesses.

A voluntary planning agreement outlines what public outcomes the landowners are required to provide with each stage of the development. 

Next steps

In 2019 the Hon Dr David Gillespie MP, Federal Member for Lyne, secured an $8.5 million grant to Bushland Health Group Limited to provide the public infrastructure associated with the Figtrees on the Manning development precinct, located on the river at Chatham including:

• Extending Pitt Street to link up with Bligh Street, including a bridge/culvert over the creek
• Upgrading of Pitt and Bligh Streets
• Upgrading of the intersection of Nelson / Lyndhurst Streets with Oxley Street (former highway) including installation of traffic lights
• Modification of the intersection of Pioneer and Chatham Streets (former highway) to extend turning lanes
• Upgrading of the intersection of Bligh Street and Manning River Drive (former highway), including installation of traffic lights
• Providing a pedestrian / cycle bridge over Browns Creek, linking the Taree CBD through the Bicentennial Gardens through to the Taree Recreation Grounds / Manning Aquatic Leisure Centre / Manning Entertainment Centre

Our staff are working closely with the Bushland Health Group project team to ensure grant timeframes are met. The construction of the pedestrian / cycle bridge over Browns Creek is complete, and the path linking it to Pitt Street is still under construction. 

Following completion of the public infrastructure, Council expects to receive a development application for subdivision to create 'super-lots' upon which individual developments will be undertaken. The first developments are expected to be a vertical retirement village and a micro-brewery.

Four major precincts have been rezoned to accommodate the future growth of Old Bar.  

Located immediately north of Old Bar, this land was rezoned to allow tourist facilities. The site is in a scenic location overlooking the Manning River’s southern entrance at Farquhar Inlet. This precinct provides a great opportunity to enable tourist facilities at this popular tourist destination. 

This precinct is located immediately west of the existing Old Bar township on both sides of Old Bar Road. The precinct enables the residential expansion of the township of Old Bar, providing around 1,400 new lots. An existing creek corridor running north-south through the precinct will provide for walking and cycle paths to link the community from Mudbishops Park in the north to Wallabi Point in the south through each of the development precincts.

A new town centre is proposed in this precinct, located on both sides of Old Bar Road. A town park will be located immediately adjacent and a range of community and business activities will be encouraged in this location to cater for the growing population of Old Bar.

This map(PDF, 1MB) shows the location and proposed layout of Precinct 2B.

Refer to the Greater Taree Development Control Plan 2010 for details on the rules and guidelines that apply to any development in this precinct.

Located directly south of Precinct 2B, it proposes an additional 525 residential lots and a 9 hole golf course. The precinct is divided by Forest Lane and will provide access between the Trad Sporting Fields in the south and beach access.

Refer to the Greater Taree Development Control Plan 2010 for details on the rules and guidelines that apply to any development in this precinct. 

This precinct is located immediately south of the Gloucester township on the western side of The Bucketts Way. The precinct enables the residential expansion of the township of Gloucester, providing around 80 new lots with views and vistas toward The Bucketts ranges and opportunities to link with the adjacent Gloucester golf course.

A Planning Agreement exists for the site which proposes to dedicate the vegetated road frontage of the site to Council as reserve in addition to further enhancing the environmental values of the site.

This map(PDF, 383KB) shows the location and proposed layout of the site.

Next steps

The land is rezoned and ready for landowners to lodge Development Applications with Council.

The 195-hectare Stratford Heavy Industrial Precinct is located adjacent to the working Stratford Coal mine approximately 15 kilometres to the south of Gloucester near the Stratford Village. It is situated to leverage from good access to The Bucketts Way, the North Coast Rail Line and the Newcastle coal rail network.

The precinct, originally intended for adjunct coal mining industries and coal seam gas processing plants, is the only IN3 Heavy Industrial zoned land available in the MidCoast. Strategic planning of the site has ensured that adequate buffers and separation distances can be achieved from surrounding farms.

The precinct represents a unique opportunity for large scale heavy, hazardous or noxious industries that generate significant impacts to establish or relocate to the MidCoast area with good access to freight and logistics networks and established employment bases.  

The Stratford Industrial Park structure can be viewed here(PDF, 6MB).

Next steps

The land is rezoned and ready for landowners to lodge Development Applications with Council.